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It protects the troops and has been a stalwart in a London economy battered by global recession -- but it appears General Dynamics Land Systems Canada may face friendly fire on the budgetary sort.

Those who run the Oxford St. plant have been called to Ottawa Friday along with two other military vehicle makers to learn the fate of a government program to buy close combat vehicles, a source says.

The meeting comes a day after the Conservative government unveiled an austerity budget that cuts military spending -- hardly a sign of good news ahead for a plant that's makes more wheeled military vehicles than any facility in the world.

The London plant, which employs 2,300 people, has continued to land foreign contracts despite a headwind of bad economic times that has struck a blow to manufacturing in the region and left the city's unemployment rate among the nation's highest. It's success has had a ripple effect on suppliers.

"General Dynamics Land Systems Canada is a crucial employer for us," said Peter White, head of the London Economic Development Corp.

A spokesperson for General Dynamics Land Systems Canada declined to comment Thursday.